Femtocell and WI-FI calling

Sterlingtimes

My new Samsung A52 has WI-FI calling enabled. I also have a Three Mobile Femtocell that I have been using for a few years. Which will take priority when I make a call or send messages?

I am having problems receiving OTPs (one time passes). HMRC and First Direct are typically very slow taking up to twenty minutes to arrive. NHS is almost instantaneous. The senders of OTPs say that it is a network issue and not theirs.

flaneurs_lobster

The status area of the phone display will indicate if it is using wi-fi calling (when in standby or in use) or 3g. 

MattMattMattUK

Sterlingtimes said:

My new Samsung A52 has WI-FI calling enabled. I also have a Three Mobile Femtocell that I have been using for a few years. Which will take priority when I make a call or send messages?

I am having problems receiving OTPs (one time passes). HMRC and First Direct are typically very slow taking up to twenty minutes to arrive. NHS is almost instantaneous. The senders of OTPs say that it is a network issue and not theirs.

In theory the femtocell just appears as an extension of their network. Wifi calling works differently but but in terms of the end user it is not that different. 

The test would probably be to turn off the femtocell, there is not really a lot of point in it now if you have Wifi calling. 

On a slight side note I have noticed that Wifi calling is great on my phone with no or limited network, however sometimes it actually performs worse when in a strong mobile signal area, my guess is that it jumps between the two. 

J_B

WE used to have a 'black boost box' provided by Three which was pretty rubbish - it said I had full signal, could make outgoing calls but incoming calls/texts would often be problematic without constantly rebooting the box.

Since I got a new phone that does Wi-Fi calling and we've ditched the box, everything works much better.

Not sure if I've answered your question at all but juts our experiences.

Sterlingtimes

MattMattMattUK said:

Sterlingtimes said:

My new Samsung A52 has WI-FI calling enabled. I also have a Three Mobile Femtocell that I have been using for a few years. Which will take priority when I make a call or send messages?

I am having problems receiving OTPs (one time passes). HMRC and First Direct are typically very slow taking up to twenty minutes to arrive. NHS is almost instantaneous. The senders of OTPs say that it is a network issue and not theirs.

In theory the femtocell just appears as an extension of their network. Wifi calling works differently but but in terms of the end user it is not that different. 

The test would probably be to turn off the femtocell, there is not really a lot of point in it now if you have Wifi calling. 

On a slight side note I have noticed that Wifi calling is great on my phone with no or limited network, however sometimes it actually performs worse when in a strong mobile signal area, my guess is that it jumps between the two. 

Excellent. That completes the picture for me. Perhaps, I can let both run and feel indifferent provided it works.

Sterlingtimes

J_B said:

WE used to have a 'black boost box' provided by Three which was pretty rubbish - it said I had full signal, could make outgoing calls but incoming calls/texts would often be problematic without constantly rebooting the box.

Since I got a new phone that does Wi-Fi calling and we've ditched the box, everything works much better.

Not sure if I've answered your question at all but juts our experiences.

Thank you. Perhaps I should just have some confidence in WI-FI calling. The box has worked well with speech but I have some trouble with the timeliness of texts arriving.

dave_dph

Sterlingtimes said:

My new Samsung A52 has WI-FI calling enabled. I also have a Three Mobile Femtocell that I have been using for a few years. Which will take priority when I make a call or send messages?

I was in a similar position myself, on contract with 3 using the home signal box for many years. When I recently changed my phone I played around with wifi calling and compared it to home signal.

At first, wifi calling was a bit disappointing as the phone kept looking for the 3 signal - which is quite weak where I am, so I risked getting a poor connection when making and receiving calls. With some networks you can set the phone preferences to always use wifi calling - when available, but not with 3. This means the phone is constantly looking for the 3 signal, and will select it even when very weak.

Further investigation gave me the result I was looking for. Switch off home signal (you won't need it any more). Put the phone into aeroplane mode and then switch wifi back on (on the phone). After a few seconds the wifi calling symbol will display on the phone and you will have a rock solid signal! Test by calling 333; the connection is virtually instant, call quality is perfect and calls never drop! 3 wifi calling supports text messaging, so this will work great also.The only thing you have to remember is to take the phone out of aeroplane mode when you leave home!

I have now moved from 3 to Smarty - which is owned by, and runs on the 3 network. With my phone (Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro), wifi calling works exactly the same as on 3. Saved myself some money, have no contract and get the same service!

Sterlingtimes

dave_dph said:

Sterlingtimes said:

My new Samsung A52 has WI-FI calling enabled. I also have a Three Mobile Femtocell that I have been using for a few years. Which will take priority when I make a call or send messages?

I was in a similar position myself, on contract with 3 using the home signal box for many years. When I recently changed my phone I played around with wifi calling and compared it to home signal.

At first, wifi calling was a bit disappointing as the phone kept looking for the 3 signal - which is quite weak where I am, so I risked getting a poor connection when making and receiving calls. With some networks you can set the phone preferences to always use wifi calling - when available, but not with 3. This means the phone is constantly looking for the 3 signal, and will select it even when very weak.

Further investigation gave me the result I was looking for. Switch off home signal (you won't need it any more). Put the phone into aeroplane mode and then switch wifi back on (on the phone). After a few seconds the wifi calling symbol will display on the phone and you will have a rock solid signal! Test by calling 333; the connection is virtually instant, call quality is perfect and calls never drop! 3 wifi calling supports text messaging, so this will work great also.The only thing you have to remember is to take the phone out of aeroplane mode when you leave home!

I have now moved from 3 to Smarty - which is owned by, and runs on the 3 network. With my phone (Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro), wifi calling works exactly the same as on 3. Saved myself some money, have no contract and get the same service!

Thank you, Dave. This has helped me greatly.

I additionally needed to switch Bluetooth back on after clicking Flight Mode to maintain contact via Microsoft Phone Link. You are right that the phone always gives primacy to mobile cellular signals, e.g. femtocell. When I go to Flight Mode then the WI-FI calling icon appears and the system appears to work faultlessly. Now I need to see whether this helps with the timeliness of receipt of OTP text messages.

dave_dph

That's great! Even before I left 3, Home Signal went back in its box!